The Bouncer

The Bouncer is one of those titles that Square are – or ought to be – embarrassed with. It was a piece of shit through and through with a laughably crap story and lackluster gameplay that failed to titillate the senses. Now, this was back during the PS2's launch, which wasn't exactly its best time, and there was pressure to make it seem like the next big thing in gaming. The Bouncer was meant to showcase the PS2's power, and while it certainly had some nice graphics, the game was a piece of shit. Don't ask me why people like it, because then I'll have to explain how people can stomach about half the shit on MTV, and I'm not that *bleep*ing smart! But enough procrastination – let's dive into this putrid pile of piss that verifies the fact that graphics do not make a game!

Bare witness to a damsel in distress plot, as our main character, Sion, and his bouncer buddies, Volt and Kou, all have to rescue Sion's good friend,...

THE GOOD:
The three seperate story lines
The graphics, music and the characters

THE BAD:
The length of the game
The rapid increase of difficulty with the boss battles and the multiple loading screens

SUMMARY:
After first playing the game through I was disappointed that it only took me an hour to finish, however I soon found that you could play it again using the other characters at certain points, allowing you to learn more about the game and its characters which makes it an enjoyable game (despite all of the cut scenes (which you can skip) all of the loading screens). when the first cut scene loaded I expected the graphics to slip (like in FFX-2) however they didn't the characters still looked human and hair still looked like hair. After playing it through a few times the bosses began to get harder (which you can expect) but they were still beatable it just required a strategy and following players...

THE GOOD:
Graphics...sound....uh.....did I mention that the graphics and sound were nice?

THE BAD:
Hell, everything else really. Crappy control, crappy combat, to many cutscenes and not enough gameplay, no stratagy or technique at all, no weapons, inconsistant flow, boring multiplayer, easy, requires no thinking, buttan mashing maddness, and WAAAAY to many possibilities for cheap shots. (cheaps shots should never be in a fighting game)Seriously, I lost to my 10 year old brother becasue he keot doing the same move over and over and there was nothing I could do about it because you can't dodge or anything.

SUMMARY:
THIS GAME SUCKS. What the hell was square thinking?

This is a beat em up right? If so, where's my weapons and interactive backgrounds? Where's my co-op play?

I looked at the other reviews in this section, they pretty muc covered how the controls work and suck. there is NO stratagy in the...

THE GOOD:
Graphics
Replay Value
Versus and Story Mode
Plenty to Unlock

THE BAD:
Somewhat Short Game
Lame Story

SUMMARY:
Before I start, I am not going to lie. This game could of been a whole lot better than it already is. Props to Square for trying to make a fighting/adventure/rpg but I guess that it didnt work very well.

You start out with 3 characters in story mode which are Sion, Kou and Volt. The main character beeing Sion. One of their friends and as well as the mascot of a local bar they work in gets kidnaped and the three are on their way to rescue their friends in need. The cutsceens are long, but you have the nice option to skip them if youd like. After completing each mission you have the option to also buy moves for the characters that they can use in battle. The Story mode can take approximatly 2 hours or so which isnt very long.

Next you have the vs mode. This...

THE GOOD:
Graphics, story and music.

THE BAD:
Pretty much everything else. Slow, clunky, frustrating, simple, no technique (common, every fighting game has to have technique) Silly rag doll physhics, repetive, depthless, crappy unlockables, bad camera.

SUMMARY:
What is a game? A GAME? A true good game is when the creators focus mainly on the gameplay physhics. They put 85% of thier work into playing the game. The bouncer doesn't do that, it's more of a low budget crappy movie than a game. Get this: the story mode takes 2 hours to complete and you only play 45 minutes of it. The gameplay is HORRIBLE. The only options you have in fighting is block or attack, no dodging, no parring, no countering, just block or attack and only 2 characters have throws (which are unblockable) you can win a fight by doing the same move agian and agian. THAT'S BORING. The pshycics are jerky and unrealistic. The button set-up uses the...

THE GOOD:
Gameplay, Characters, Story, and Replay Value.

THE BAD:
The length, I mean I beat it in one night[first time through].

SUMMARY:
First off this is a great game, very addictive. Its a 3D fighting game, which I've never really been into. But this one was alotta fun, with a little of the RPG story element thrown in there. This was a great game to get me away from the strict RPG diet I had been on, but not get to far away from it. The fighting is easy to get used to, and special moves are pretty awesome.

The games story may be pretty short and not take you too long to beat, about 1.5 hours, but this game has quite a bit of replay value. You get to carry over your stats to a new game, and can unlock more characters for the Versus mode.

Overall Great game, check it out.

Favorite Character: Volt
Favorite Villian: Mugetsu

THE GOOD:
Good storylines, good side quests, and Good 2-player made rating system

THE BAD:
It is way too short, the story doesn't make any sense at all, and it is pretty easy

SUMMARY:
This game is way to short, even if they made a "The Bouncer 2" game. It is cool becuse you can be anyone in two player, but a little too hypothetic. Especially the part where Dominique shows off hew supernatural robotic powers. And where they just walk in the bar, have a fight, and take Dominique. They would know that the cops would show up if it was real. Also some parts of the game don't make sense. Like where Volt used to work for the enemy. That doesn't even fit into the story at all. and why is Kau the only person that can go into the suit, Why can Xion do it, Who knows. Please, If you want to play it, rent and don't buy.

Visuals: good graphics, the part where the train explodes is great, even if it is a very early PS2 game. The characters don't look too good though, but the graphics are cartoony.
7/10

Audio: I hate the music and my friend likes it, what is wrong with me? huh? anyway, the sounds when you punch or kick someone are incredibly bad and the music sucks.
2/10

Gameplay: you just beat the crap out of everyone in the level. Nuff said. Apart from that the controlls are crap when trying to pull off combos etc. and the game is way too easy to complete. The multiplayer is crap as well, you can't fight as a team and the arenas are too small.
3/10

Longevity: Thi game is very, very, very short. Unlocking everything doesn't take long either.
3/10

THE GOOD:
Everything except...

THE BAD:
The gameplay, lenth and multiplayer.

SUMMARY:
The Bouncer, one of the first PS2 games and still has some of the best graphics, outstanding sound, awesome music, kick ass characters but there is one SERIOUS flaw in this game.......the gameplay.

Basically, it goes as follows, attack them before they attack you. You can't dodge, avoid attacks, or counter. You can't even turn around to fight enemies behind you becuase the lock on isn't manual. The rest of the game is great, but when it comes right down to playing it, it's serious snooze fest. As you play you gain levels, but there's no point to that, becuase as you get stronger, SO DO THE ENEMIES! Single player is soemwhat fun, but multiplayer actually feels like you're playing rock paper sciors rather than duking it out. And Becuase of the awful gameplay, survival mode is damn near impossible. The only POSSIBLE...

THE GOOD:
The gameplay, the free roam type way of playing through levels, the storyline, the fighters, the graphics, the characters, and the villains....

THE BAD:
Some of the moves can get a bit hard to perform....

SUMMARY:
Great game. I really enjoyed beating it. I've beaten it well over 15 times and its been worth it everytime. It doesn't get boring. Its a bit short(takes around 8 hours to beat) but you'll find yourself going back and beating it over and over again, I guarantee it! I thought the levels were well set-up and always a new surprise around every corner. I liked the free roam way of playing through levels, its the only fighter game I've ever seen doing it that way. I really enjoyed it.

Overall Outcome: Buy It!